“Max –”
“I nearly came just watchin’ you.”
My stomach dipped pleasantly.
“Max,” I breathed but he released my hand, pulled his other out of my jeans carefully, tugged me to my side and into his arms and his face went into my neck.
“Drenched by the time I touched you, soaked right before you came. Gonna love eatin’ you,” he said against my neck and my stomach dipped again, in a plummet this time.
“Max –”
His head came up and he grinned at me, so big he looked like he was about to laugh, as his arms got even tighter. “Baby, you keep callin’ me and I’m right f**kin’ here.”
He looked at me, waiting for me to speak and I found I didn’t know what to say.
Then I found myself saying, “I’m sorry.”
His head jerked and his fight with his amusement became far more visible.
Even his voice vibrated with it when he asked, “What?”
“I… um, you didn’t… I didn’t…” I closed my eyes tight then opened them and said, “that went really fast.”
“Good thing, considerin’ we don’t have much time.”
“But –” I started, he kissed me and I stopped.
“Like that you respond to me that way, Duchess.”
“It’s that, well, I respond to you –”
He smiled against my mouth, I felt it and I watched his eyes doing it and both were so marvelous, I stopped speaking.
“Oh yeah, you respond to me.”
I decided maybe I should stop talking altogether. I didn’t have my head or my body under my control and I didn’t seem to be able to finish a sentence anyway.
So I dipped my chin, tucked my face into his throat and slid my arms around his waist.
“How fast can you eat steak?” he asked the top of my head.
“I’m sorry?” I asked his throat.
“You need to make it record time, darlin’. I wanna get home in time to have my turn and I’ve noticed when you get tired you pretty much slip into a coma.”
My head tilted back and I felt my brows come together as I protested, “I don’t slip into a coma.”
He didn’t answer, he just raised his brows in return.
“Last night I drank nearly a bottle of wine by myself,” I reminded him.
“Yeah, and the night before?”
“You were with Mindy.”
“I walked up here to get Mins a t-shirt about five minutes after you came up and you were dead to the world.”
“I was not.”